Friends: Collection
by Tokebi211
Summary: Short scenes of tender ? moments among various characters. Ch. 5. Lawliet. Light: "L is for Lunatic!"
1. Owari

**Greetings,**

**This first installment is just the same one-shot I'd posted as **_**Friends**_**. It wasn't planned but I suddenly had the idea of trying out a series of one-shots involving various characters with the common theme, and so I'm throwing it in here as the first chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Owari**

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'Good to see you.'

'Glad to hear that.'

'Of all possible candidates to greet me at the death's door, it had to be you, huh?'

'Perhaps you really did consider me a friend.'

'Come on, you know better than anyone the charade we carried on. You started the whole 'friend' nonsense, after all.'

'It is true both you and I were pathological liers with a purpose. But not everything I said was deceit, Raito-kun. A friend is a person who understands you at the deepest level, is it not?'

'Under such assumption, I suppose that's what we were. But does a friend obsessively pick at your flaws, ready to throw you in a death row?'

'First, I was merely doing what my profession dictated. Second, difference in opinions on morals does not preclude friendship.

'That said, there is something I know about Yagami Light that superficial observers would miss: With his remarkable intelligence, he saw the world around him at a level that was beyond the capacity of most people. With his intelligence, he was unimpressed with all the mediocrities of the world. He was stifled by social relations and mores that were utterly pointless to his near-omniscient eyes. More importantly, this soul was lonely; no one, nothing worldly could satiate his hunger for the _extraordinary_.

'Then, the Note came into his possession. By becoming the hand that executes its sinister power, he effectively severed his ties with those mediocre mortals. With such power, boredom was no longer. With the God-like status, loneliness was not needed. The Note became the justification of his existence, the perfect companion that no mortal lover could match. It was his shield.'

'Says the person who hid behind a letter.'

'…'

'You, too, used the power and status of your symbol to shield your own human fragility, and justify your life. You buried yourself in your work and evaded your subconscious desires and superfluous longings. Am I wrong?'

'Like I said, we know each other quite well. By the magnitude of understanding, we _are_ good friends… despite the unpleasantness of thirst for each other's blood.'

'I have no regrets.'

'I know. You did what you had to do, just as I did. Unfortunately, the saga of Yagami Light comes to a close. In spite of his extraordinary character, he is still only a mortal.'

'I envisioned a beautiful world…'

'The world is fine as it is. It is not perfect but nothing, no one is perfect. Not even you. You are dying.'

'I was so close…'

'Let it go. You know you cannot go any further from here.'

'It's too soon…'

'Yearning for more time is futile when you've reached the final destination every human eventually come to.'

'Nothingness.'

'There is no need to fear it. It is only the flip side of a paper-thin barrier which separates the realm of physical awareness.'

'Help me…'

'Let it go, Raito-kun…'

The apparition knelt down by the fallen man's side and placed its hand over the glazed eyes. Too weakened to withstand the invisible weight, Yagami Light succumbed to the spectral fingers guiding his heavy lids close shut.

_Goodbye._

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	2. Cookie Crumbs

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**Cookie Crumbs**

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"Aizawa-san, everyone has left for lunch. Aren't you joining them?"

The temperamental investigator paused the task at hand and turned his head, startled. Ryuuzaki had disappeared with Watari a while ago after suggesting the rest of the team to take a break, hinting at a long evening of work awaiting them. Now he was approaching the computer station after spotting lone Aizawa there.

"Ah. I wasn't really hungry. I thought I'd…"

He trailed off when he noticed Ryuuzaki's gaze shift away from his face to the object he currently held in his hands – the computer keyboard, turned upside down, poised above a trash can.

The detective gave him a puzzled look, with a finger on his chin.

"Oh, I was cleaning the workstation. Some crumbs were stuck between the keys." He gave the keyboard a good shake, a few taps, and settled it down.

Ryuuzaki had been completely oblivious – unless he was purposefully ignoring – to the disgusted look on Aizawa's face when his shameless hands shook out the contents of panda cookie bag all over the desk. Now he nodded with realization and had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I apologize, Aizawa-san. But you know you don't have to do this. Watari would've taken care of it eventually."

It took a heroic effort for Aizawa to stop himself from giving this spoiled grown-up child of a genius a hard smack in the head and lecturing him on the virtues of self-reliance. Instead, he managed what he deemed the most civilized smile he could muster, even though it turned out rather like a grimace, given his mood.

"It's okay, really. I do this all the time at home. I have a little girl, you know."

"Aizawa-san…"

The brat was feigning a look of hurt.

"…Are you implying that I'm like a four-year old toddler? I'm a grown adult, you know."

"Then act like one!" Aizawa spat, his temper winning the race against civility this time. Remorse came immediately after. He did not want to strain his work relationship with this kid again when he had just re-joined the team. L might be the greatest detective of the world but Aizawa was still his senior. And where would his pride be if he continued to let the brat get on his nerves every time?

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, imagined the peaceful face of Buddha…

"Listen, Ryuuzaki," he started solemnly, opening his eyes when he trusted himself to be calm enough to face the smartass. Then he blinked. He forgot the words he was about to say.

Ryuuzaki was staring at him from a nearby chair, which he had soundlessly hopped on when Aizawa wasn't looking. His eyes, in which moroseness had lingered ever since Higuchi had literally dropped dead on them, now twinkled in a mischievous grin.

"It's good to have you back, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa's mind suddenly traveled back in time and place, a flash of unbidden image overlapping his vision, phantom voices ringing his ears.

_Let's show him. Justice will prevail!_

_Yeah!_

_That's right!_

_Let's do it!_

Back then… they all knew how naïvely they were acting, but it did not matter. It might have been the unabashed, impish grin on L's face. Or, maybe the ominous cloud of danger hanging over their heads made them act like a bunch of boy scouts, trying to forget fear. Even though their number was few and risk too great, they felt good. They were warriors charging into battlefields, to win a just war. _We were brave, weren't we, Ukita?_

He swallowed a lump forming in his throat. He willed his eyes to reabsorb the excess moisture that was starting to pool. He chuckled. Why was he feeling this sentimental all of a sudden?

"Ryuuzaki," he managed to say.

The younger man widened his eyes slightly in acknowledgement.

"You're a major pain in the ass, but… it's good to be back."

L followed his chuckle, hopping off the chair.

"Thank you, I think."

Aizawa supposed the break time was over, because he more or less felt pensive mood enveloping the younger detective again. He missed the brat's childish grin suddenly, terribly.

"He might've slipped through our fingers this time. But we _will_ get him, Ryuuzaki."

"Yes. I don't doubt that," he replied, walking toward the elevator.

"You're taking off? Everyone will be returning soon."

"Watari will be updating you shortly on an important matter when everyone's back. I'm only going for a little fresh air. I'll be back on time."

"Fresh air? But…"

Aizawa did not have a chance to finish before the elevator door closed. He stared at the floor numbers atop the door lighting up in succession, all the way to the roof.

"… the rainstorm outside…."

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	3. Banter

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**Banter**

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"Stop smoking."

Weddie blew another graceful puff into air.

"Aww… How sweet of you to be concerned for my health."

Aiber snickered.

"You're dropping ash all over my cake… and tea."

Weddie suddenly uncrossed her legs and leaned over.

"Look who's talking," she purred into L's ear.

Light looked up questioningly.

"After all…" she continued, noticing the new audience.

"…you've had a pretty intense tobacco love affair at one point," she declared, leaning back, a triumphant smirk on her lips.

L's eyes shot daggers. Light's jaw dropped. Aiber raised an eyebrow.

"You're ruining my immaculate image here…" L muttered under his breath.

Light pictured a cigarette daintily poised between Ryuuzaki's spidery fingers, and let out a snigger.

"I still remember," Weddie's lazy voice continued.

"The day Watari got fed up with all the cigarette butts in the tea cup, he printed out stacks of lung cancer reports and dropped them on his lap."

"At least Ryuuzaki had the intellect to overcome addiction with facts," Light said, giving Weddie a meaningful look.

"Nope. That wasn't it."

"Oh?"

Indignant L decided preemption was in order.

"I accidentally drank out of the cup."

"…"

"Yikes."

Minutes later…

"Ow!"

Everyone turned around. Weddie was frantically wiping her forearm where a runaway piece of glowing-red ashes had fallen.

L snickered.

...


	4. Father Figure

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**Father Figure**

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Yagami Soichiro closed the bathroom door silently behind him, and heavily leaned against the doorframe in the hallway. Splash of cold water to his face had done little to lift away the fatigue. He was getting too old, he thought, for pulling an all-nighter like this. He resisted the temptation of just walking out of there, the spacious but oppressive hotel suite which happened to be their headquarters for the time being, and return to the comfort of home, into the safe embrace of Sachiko. No, he reminded himself. No more comfort. Cameras were about to be placed there. His family would have to be "observed." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Chief Yagami."

He opened his heavy eyes at the soft voice calling his name.

"You must be quite tired. Can I get you a cup of tea? Coffee, perhaps?"

Soichiro straightened up his stooped shoulders and turned toward the gentle face of Watari.

"Oh, no. It's quite all right. Thank you, though. I'm very appreciative of what you've already done for us," he said with a smile, pointing at the empty ice cream carton in Watari's arms.

"Ah. That's nothing. Anything I can do to help smooth progress."

Even though his mind had been in turmoil at having been pushed into considering his own family as possible suspects, he found himself calming down considerably in the presence of the polite English gentleman. Heaviness momentarily forgotten, Soichiro stood observing the pleasant face of bespectacled man. Quite the contrast, he mused. Unlike his often-abrasive young protégé, this old man oozed kindness with dignified air. If Ryuuzaki had the tendency to make them stand nervously on their tiptoes, Watari had the soothing ability to somehow put them right back at ease, even though he was just as reserved, if not more, and rarely offered petty pleasantries.

"I'm sure you have better things to attend to than keeping us fed," he said with a good-natured chuckle.

The elderly man returned a smile. "Actually, keeping Ryuuzaki well fed is a very important aspect of what I do: _maintaining the maximum efficiency_."

Soichiro's smile faltered.

"That sounds a little… I hope you don't take this offensive, but you almost make it sound as if he's a machine."

The gentle expression remained on the aged face but his voice took on a serious tone.

"When he is at work, Chief Yagami, he _is _a machine. No. To be more exact, I should say… he is a specialized weapon as the product of society needing to fend itself against certain forces. This entity we call L is a trained sniper with a mission in a war of stealth, and I am his support battalion. For individuals like Ryuuzaki and I, our purpose comes before our humanity. It is heartless, yes, but certain criminals… they are beyond humanity, as we are seeing now with our current case. And in order to apprehend those ruthless criminals…"

"We must be ruthless as well," Soichiro finished for him in understanding.

A contemplative silence fell between them. Then Watari gestured toward the kitchen.

"Come. Let us have some tea and I would like to go over the location of surveillance cameras with you. I can pull up the floor plan of your house in my laptop set up in there."

Soichiro's eyes twitched ever so slightly. So these two had been preparing for this already… always one step ahead.

Moments later, they were seated in front of Watari's computer, showing each room of Soichiro's house in a 3D grid. On the table sat two teacups cooling quickly in the chill of morning air.

"…It should be easy for your daughter's room since it is quite small… I was thinking here, and here… However, Tsuki, on the other hand…"

"Light," Soichiro interjected.

"Pardon?"

"We call him Light," he explained with practiced ease.

"Ah, I see." Watari glanced at Soichiro's face, which could not hide a hint of pride as he said his son's name.

"It is a good name," Watari added.

"Thank you. I know it's unusual but when Sachiko gave a birth to him and I held him in my arms…"

Realizing that he was offering unnecessary personal account, Soichiro lowered his head with a blush on his cheeks. When he looked back at Watari, however, the older man's gaze was on him with a slight raise of his drooping lids in an encouragement to go on. Soichiro chuckled, embarrassed by his own forwardness.

"He already had those bright eyes of unusual intelligence even as a baby. We thought the name only fitting for him."

"He's a bright kid, no doubt?"

"Extremely. So much so that it worries me sometimes. I know you probably think it strange."

"No, not at all. I also know too well how worrisome… even sad… it can be when a child knows too much."

Soichiro searched Watari's face when he detected a wistful note in the voice.

"Watari… in spite of what you said earlier about you and Ryuuzaki…"

Watari nodded.

"I do not deny… I have a tremendous affection for him."

Soichiro could almost hear the words left unspoken.

_Like a son._

"Shall we continue, Chief Yagami?" Watari broke the reverie, his wrinkled hands beginning to tap busily on the keyboard.

"Watari… Please, call me Soichiro."

The tapping paused momentarily. Watari's droopy eyes studied him, before he gave a slight nod.

"Very well, Soichiro."

……

His son was calling him, pleading.

His flesh and blood. Ever since that day he held this boy – so tiny back then – in his arms in wonder, Light never let him down. Now grown into this beautiful young man, Soichiro knew he need not feel the worry and anxiety any more.

The dying man's only wish was to have more time, more strength. There was still so much he wanted to say to his son, to let him know how proud he was, how grateful he was having had such a son who made his life worthwhile. He knew he had the chance, a lifetime of chance, but it was never enough when the last of his breath was leaving his body.

"I'm glad... I never doubted your innocence."

The grief-stricken face of his son blurred in his vision.

"Light…"

_My beautiful son._

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	5. Lawliet

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**Lawliet**

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The world, this physical world as it came to be known, experienced, and understood by human race was quite a remarkable thing. This dark expanse of universe of star clouds and revolving planets, following a precise path dictated by the mysterious force of nature. Truly remarkable, when you picture it – the graceful dance of those enormous rocks, in an endless elliptic loop, in a swoop of hyperbolic escape, all describable with a simple notation of just a few symbols. Simply elegant.

Then, on a small patch of this vast space, occupied the human civilization, like a swarm of tiny insects. An ant colony. A beehive.

These creatures busily carried on within the clumsily erected structure that was society, billions of tiny lives composed of irrationality and inefficiency, blissfully unaware of the majestic absolute.

Kira's perfect world consisted of "kind-hearted" people. In Lawliet's perfect world – the occasion for such idle daydream was extremely rare but it did exist – the only non-inorganic constituent would be of pure consciousness, without the cumbersome skin, this biological system that humans had no choice but wearing 24/7, every single grueling day of entire lifespan, full of inconsistencies and ridiculous amount of repetitive catabolic and anabolic mechanism that made him shudder. A body that fed, farted, and shat.

What was even more ridiculous was the human nature that made such pointless activities into a respectable custom – take the daily ritual of having a meal, for example. Three times a day right on the clock, you sat around the table for the activity of simple eating, and heaven forbid, with the expectation of meaningless idle conversation.

He simply took care of energy intake as a sideline activity while he occupied himself with what he deemed more purposeful. His sweet tooth was not a petty indulgence that people made it out to be but rather, a precisely calculated intake of glucose. He understood well the bodily process of digestion and absorption to know how much sugar he needed and how often.

The repertoire of simple sugar items was not, by any means, out of his consideration for the digestive tract to unburden its task of breaking down carbohydrates. He simply liked the sweetness. Among the little joys and pleasures that physical body offered, this was one of the few things he simply enjoyed without wondering about the purpose. Sex was great too, sure. It was just that copulation – or… ahem… masturbation – was messy, not to mention impossible to multi-task. Sugar was clean and simple. Orgasmic ecstasy on the tip of the tongue.

Of course, he also understood the pathoetiology of various physical ailments, but change of life-style never crossed his mind. Diabetes was a chronic disease. His life did not require notions that involved "long-term" consideration.

Which was one of the reasons why various medical observations on the negative impact of sleep deprivation did not motivate him into more regular sleep pattern.

He dreaded the process of falling asleep – the suspended moment that the mind hesitated between levels of consciousness. Those few minutes of waiting, lying down, counting sheep, was a horrible waste, and yet you could not avoid it, had no choice but wait it out. Even worse, it was during that small window of opportunity that the mind tended to open its can of worms – idle thoughts that inevitably led to unpredictable emotional swirl. Not that he could not handle it. It was just… unpleasant. No need to go through the ritual every single night.

And so he kept his mind busy, maintained the comfortably ordered processes of information analysis. Only when he detected sluggishness, a decline in his reasoning – normally of lightning speed – that was not due to a lack of sugar or caffeine, did he close his eyes for rest… on a chair, on a floor, in a bathtub, etc. Mattress was fine too, if that was where he happened to be.

It was unfortunate for individuals within the vicinity of Lawliet when he neared this stage, for he _did_ exhibit the typical human tendency of irritability when fatigued, and… unlike the typical sociable human beings, Lawliet _did not_ restrain from showing the said irritability to his hapless companions. Normally this would not be a problem since it was not often that he found himself in the company of others. This Kira case was unusual in many ways. And it was very unfortunate indeed for one Yagami Light.

He was considerate enough to apologize to Chief Yagami, who seemed unsettled about the situation even more than Light, but he had no qualms about using this unorthodox, or even bizarre, method. Anything that might offer any clues in his investigation… To say that he was dedicated to his job was an understatement. It was his sole purpose, the greatest joy of his life. He relished in the victory. He fed off of it. Criminals he dealt with were the garbage of human beings that caused the most despicable mess, disruption of order, in the society that was already plagued with frustrating abundance of inconsistency. As for Kira, the audacity to assume the right of arbitrary punishment was even a greater abomination than the criminals that have been killed.

Justice.

Now that was a notion sweeter than shortcake.

Mercy had no place in Lawliet's ideal world. Only justice. An eye for an eye. It was clean and simple. And that was what Kira would be served with. Even if it turned out to be, with the finality of a hundred percent, this Yagami boy who was no doubt conniving but nonetheless quite likable, as he came to realize during the last few days.

He figured he needed to sleep, as he found his mind wandering to the undesirable regions of thought. Likableness… had no place in the profiling of a criminal. He attempted closing his eyes and awaited the quick descent of oblivion.

Too slow. He raised his chin back up from his knees in irritation and let his lethargic gaze drift over to the window.

He wished it were raining. Millions of big fat drops of water like tiny razorblades hitting his skin with satisfying momentum would leave him rejuvenated like the after-feeling of a hard scrub by one of those black-bikini clad Amazon ladies of Korean bathhouses. Regrettably, the day was bright and that damned sunlight was casting insistent rays into the room, reflecting off tiny dusts floating in the air with plankton-like movements that made him dizzy.

Such was human nature to feel like a toddler throwing a tantrum when the desired is beyond reach. There was nothing he could do about the weather, and now he really wanted the refreshing sensation against his skin. He decided to go for the next best thing.

He jumped without a warning out of the plush chair in which he had been cocooned for the previous hour, the chain mercilessly yanking taut in the space between the two individuals it connected.

"Hey!"

Startled Light grabbed his aching wrist with his free hand, the laptop sliding off his lap to the floor with a clang. Like the countless times in the span of past few days, he had no choice but stumble after him.

"Where are you going?"

Ryuuzaki rudely dragged the clueless boy behind him without providing an answer. The need for a cool shower of water was too urgent to explain his behavior to this person who was, at the moment, only an inconvenient accessory attached to his wrist. He hurried to the nearest bathroom, slid open the glass door. Light stood speechless as fully clothed Ryuuzaki walked into the shower stall.

"Shit!"

Light jumped, only so far as the chain would allow, as a sudden barrage of cold stream of water descended upon them. He was thankfully out of the way to remain relatively dry but the splashing water drops were quickly soaking his hair and shirt.

Ryuuzaki, on the other hand, was completely ignoring his companion's predicament, mind blank with the blissful coldness numbing his face under the stream. That was, until it suddenly stopped as the hand of angry Light reached in and turned the faucet close. He turned his head, finally acknowledging the presence of the boy, with an annoyed frown.

Before he could decide on a most suitable response for the situation, he found himself slammed against the tile wall, a pair of furious eyes close enough to touch his hair.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Calm down," he replied simply, pushing Light's hands away from his front.

The brown eyes flashed.

"Calm down? _Calm down_?" The trembling hands in righteous anger grabbed his shirt again, yanking him off the wall.

"I've had enough! What the hell's wrong with you, Ryuuzaki? This is ridiculous, fucking ridiculous! I've fucking had it!"

Ryuuzaki grinned at such uncharacteristic torrent of expletives spewing off the mouth of this pissed-off teenager. He personally never used such foul words. Swearing was a futile expression of uncontrolled human weakness that carried no meaning, served no purpose other than revealing the indignation of the speaker. When he felt the necessity of antagonizing someone, he used a precise vocabulary in a meaningful sentence that would actually serve the purpose of antagonizing.

At the moment, however, he definitely did not want to antagonize this boy. Now that he thought about it, Light had shown an admirable patience with him so far considering how often he had just dragged off the poor boy to the kitchen, to the bathroom, to the roof… whereas Light, ever so polite and well behaved, had asked his consent before going anywhere. Now he felt bad.

But trying to think of a suitable response to placate this raging boy was quite difficult when your head was being shaken back and forth. Giving up on a verbal response, he shook off the offending hands and pushed Light off… maybe a little too hard than intended, as the boy lost his balance and started to fall. Pulled by the chain, Ryuuzaki lost his footing as well. Light struck the floor first on his back only to have Ryuuzaki's falling body slam into his stomach, air whooshing out of his lungs.

Oops.

"Fuck you!"

The fist connected to Ryuuzaki's jaw, sending him rolling off to one side. Even though his head was reeling, the fighter's instinct took over and he swiped one foot under Light, who was just beginning to clamber to his feet, and threw a punch of his own at Light's face.

Light was thrown to his side but deftly shot up and immediately climbed on top of Ryuuzaki's torso, grabbing at his shirt while the other hand raised in the air, ready to throw another punch.

Ryuuzaki could not help a grin, feeling the idiocy of the situation. He let out a chuckle. And saw the raging fire in Light's eyes subside. A frustrated sigh escaped from the boy's lips.

"What's gotten into you?" Light asked reproachfully, lifting his weight off Ryuuzaki's sprawled form.

"I'm sorry."

Well, that came out more deadpan than he intended. He knew sincerity when he heard it, but how did one _express_ it? At least Yagami boy seemed calmed down. He would have to be more mindful of his presence from now on. The Kira case was certainly unusual… it was forcing him to do many things differently.

He felt the coldness of his wet hair clinging to his scalp and forehead. The chill, together with the soreness in his jaw, was strangely soothing, and he closed his eyes in content.

"I can't believe I've gotten all wet for no apparent reason. This must be the stupidest… Hey… hey!"

He cracked open one eye in annoyance and swatted at Light's hand that was shaking his shoulder.

"I need to sleep, Yagami-kun."

Light threw up his hands in the air.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Will you get the hell up?"

The boy seriously needed to mind precision of words. Would Kira lose his calm like this in such a situation? He vaguely wondered as Light pulled him off the floor and led him to the bedroom.

His body was pleasantly tired and the mental fog was descending on him with a satisfying speed that promised no sheep to count. He absentmindedly took off his wet articles with Light's prompt and dropped to the bed, not caring his still wet hair soaking the pillow. Yes, it was going to be a nice restful sleep, which he had not had in a while.

"I don't believe this. I don't fucking believe this…"

The spring of the mattress rippled from the agitated movements of his companion toweling off his hair, and the unhappy mutter jabbed annoyingly at his fast receding consciousness.

"Shut up, Yagami."

"Fuck you."

Tsk tsk. Such imprecise words.

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	6. Thank you note

I humbly thank you all for reading my stories, especially those who took the time to leave reviews. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see the positive response, not just to this one but I mean my other story as well. But please do point out problems, as it is good to know what works and (more importantly) what doesn't.

I apologize, to those of you who take the integrity in a writing seriously, for my awkward sentences and poor editing. I think I might attempt at writing again at some point and when I do, I'll make sure I have someone to proofread and edit properly before putting it out.

I don't know what came over me during the last few days to go on a writing spree like this. Now I must force myself to go back to taking care of practical matters, mainly, the final exams… ugh. I'm so screwed.

Again, many thanks.

-Tokebi.


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